Ghani secures second term as Afghan president

KABUL AFP, 18 Feb, 2020-  Ashraf Ghani has secured a second term as president of Afghanistan, according to final results of the September 28, 2019 poll released Tuesday by the country’s election commission.   

 “The election commission... declares Mr Ashraf Ghani, who has won 50.64 percent of the votes, as the president of Afghanistan,” election commission chief Hawa Alam Nuristani told a press conference in Kabul.   

 “May God help him in serving the people of Afghanistan... I also pray that peace comes to our country,” she added.   The results had been delayed for nearly five months after allegations of vote-rigging from Ghani’s main rival, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, forced a recount.   

The delay left Afghanistan facing a political crisis just as the US seeks a deal with the Taliban which would allow it to withdraw troops in return for various security guarantees and a promise that the militants would hold peace talks with the Afghan government.